The Online Reporter recounted ARRIS CTO, CPE, Charles Cheevers’ comments on virtual reality (VR) at last month’s INTX show, noting that early adopters will seize on VR headsets and drive bandwidth demand. Cheevers also noted that VR could be the main driving force behind the need for all things gigabit.

According to a recent report by IHS Research, the number of connected audio-visual devices globally exceeds 8 billion, reported Rapid TV News. The report also found that Netflix secured a presence on 339 million devices as of year-end 2015, and that smartphones outnumbered tablets by five to one.

Facebook predicted that its platform will be mobile in five years and will consist almost entirely of video, a notion supported by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, reported Quartz. Facebook has already begun to promote video over purely text posts in its algorithm, a trend the company insists is user-driven and will continue.

Multichannel News reported on a recent study by Parks Associates, which found that approximately 23 percent of households headed by Millennials are OTT-only, which is above the average of 15 percent of all U.S. broadband homes. The study also found that 61 percent of Millennials subscribe to both pay TV and OTT services.

Researchers at Columbia University have discovered a simple solution to combat virtual reality-induced discomfort and nausea, according to BBC News. The researchers found that a sensory mismatch between what viewers see on a VR headset and where they are in reality is a source of motion sickness. The technique of slightly narrowing the field of view will bridge the gap for a more enjoyable VR experience.

ARRIS Gives Us a Hint of the Bandwidth Requirements for VR (June 17, 2016) By Online Reporter Staff, The Online Reporter: Virtual Reality (VR) video experiences will be the next major bandwidth-consuming application, according to ARRIS CTO Charles Cheevers. “We’ll see the early adopters pick up the VR headsets and that’ll drive bandwidth,” Cheevers said, speaking at INTX last month. “I think this year we’re going to see this holiday season a lot of interest in VR headsets.”

Facebook is predicting the end of the written word (June 14, 2016) By Cassie Werber, Quartz: Back when humans were first grappling with the impact of a new, global forum for communication, Clay Shirky, a prominent thinker in the digital sphere, made the persuasive argument that the internet made us more creative—even if only in a small way.